Baptism By Fire
by girl-of-many-faces
Summary: A short glimpse into Kairi's training to become a Keyblade Master; featuring two special guests from the Avengers movie.


A blast of energy sears into the pavement beside her, inches from where she was standing a moment ago. Above her rages a battle that she isn't even sure she is meant to be a part of, but she'll be damned if those creepy aliens hurt her new friends. She is fighting beside two of them now, the one in red and blue who she remembered as 'Cap' and the one with the big hammer, whose name is definitely Thor. When she had crash-landed in this world earlier they had seemed just as displaced as she felt, and that had founded a swift route to an unlikely friendship.

She had never fought in tandem before. Never really fought at all until Riku had found her and convinced her to go on this crazy journey. She was also _supposed_ to be with Sora and Lea, but the three of them had ended up splintering after they had locked their first keyhole because apparently being shunted from world to world was a _really_ unreliable form of travel. Anyway, she liked to believe that she was coping well. True, her legs were bruised from flying rubble and burns singed her arms, but she was ever the optimist, and this was her baptism by fire, so to speak. Lea would have been proud.

Another alien creep lunged towards her, and she struggled to avoid its gunfire before managing to sever one of its arms and planting her boot in the center of its face. Thank god she wasn't squeamish. She backed up and stumbled over a fallen brick, ending up back to back with Cap who swung his arm out to deflect laser fire from shooting a hole through her stomach.

"How are you holding up, Kairi?" He shouted above the noise of the battle, crouching low and throwing his shield at the kneecaps of an approaching alien.

"Surprisingly well!" She called back, pivoting around him to slam her keyblade into the same alien's jaw, flinching as she heard its neck snap.

"You fight well for a maid so slight," Thor said, his voice rumbling like thunder as he lunged into the fray, and Kairi could feel it vibrate through her bones. She smiled despite herself; being complemented on her very minor fighting skills by a giant of a man who was twice her height and width was not something to be taken lightly.

For a little while the battle consumed her. She became lost in the grunts of her comrades, cringing whenever the shrill cry of a dying alien assaulted her ears. Sweat plastered her hair to her face, dust made her eyes water, and she was surprised to find the noises coming from her mouth, while sounding utterly ridiculous, simply could not be helped. Her basic knowledge of magic also came in very, very handy, supplementing her lack of physical skill and presence, although she did happen to notice Thor eyeing her suspiciously whenever she cast a bolt of lightning. After what seemed like eternity there was a short break in the onslaught, and she leaned against a building to catch her breath. To her left Cap was attempting to do the same, shrinking back as Thor charged forwards from her right to pick up where they had left off, and then within moments they were being charged again. With a cry of frustration Kairi vaulted from the building, slashing through the three nearest aliens, and then she just stops thinking as Thor drops his hammer, tackled by two aliens and grappling with them for control, and she's running in to help because Cap is preoccupied and she ducks and slides under two aliens, impaling one on her keyblade and then oh, god, her keyblade is stuck. Suddenly she is completely defenseless, wide open and too panicked to either pull her weapon free or attempt to concentrate and summon it back to her hand.

So, naturally, the first thing she does is go for Thor's fallen hammer.

The thing is beyond heavy, and for a moment she is terrified that she's not going to be able lift it, but then the weight vanishes and it's lighter than a wooden sword. She takes a solid grip on the handle and swings, and feels herself _spin_, and bringing carnage down on everything less than a metre away from her. When she manages to get the hammer back under control she swings it again, this time with more precision, and sends an alien flying. Eventually she gets dizzy, setting the hammer down when there is a break in the action and almost collapsing. The next thing she is aware of is the large hand on her shoulder and the glint of her keyblade at her side, and she looks up to see Thor towering over her. There's a look in her eyes that she just can't figure out, it's like surprise and bemusement but she can't understand why he's looking at her like that.

"Well fought, young warrior." Thor says in his thunderstorm voice, and she grins in reply and grasps the handle of her keyblade. It is clean as if it had never run the alien through, which is nice, and the faint floral smell that surrounds her weapon can still be detected over sweat and blood. Still tired but feeling a great deal more determined, she hands the hammer back to Thor and launches herself to her feet, back into battle.

Her dress is torn in several places, one of the straps is hanging on by a few threads. Her skin is grimy and littered with scrapes and bruises, and blood has crusted over in jagged patterns down her legs and arms. The battle has ended, and she is on the side of the victors. She politely declines their offer for dinner, saying a warm farewell to both Cap and Thor and walks off through the rubble, following her instinct before coming to a large building, broken neon letters swinging dangerously overhead. She raises her keyblade, feels the world around her fade as the keyhole appears, and as the lock clicks into place she is swept off her feet and shunted away from the world of war and heroes.

She can still smell blood, sweat, and dust. She will never know that lifting the hammer of Thor is an impressive feat, but her blood is pumping heavily through her veins she has never felt more _alive_.


End file.
